The introduction of new papers from Hahnemuhle, Innova, and Museo have everyone scrambling for these papers, as they are suppose to be the reason to finally come out of the darkroom. After all, B&W silver gelatin paper manufacturers are starting to disappear, causing more artists/photographers to convert to digital printing methods. This does not mean that we should start expecting these paper companies to create exact replicas of our favorite silver gelatin papers. We as a community, need to start suggesting what we would like them to change about their current papers rather than asking them to match paper that is oriented to a completely different process. These three papers are derived from exactly that, all three companies listened to the cries of those tired of RC semi-gloss or luster papers. The papers they produced are a tremendous accomplishment for the first generation of a new product, remember these papers are first generation.
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I personally along with many other photographers have refused to print on so-called luster or semi-gloss papers due to their look. The next generation of paper’s large color gamut and DMax allows for a higher color saturation, which produces a look that creates images that have a similar image quality and feel as traditional photographic paper. These three papers are nothing like any paper I have ever used, digital or traditional, because they have their own image qualities. We finally have the technical tools, to create the imagery that we all have been waiting for with the advent of these papers.
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